FRANKFORT- Kentucky Senators made good use of their last day before the three-week recess. 

The Senate passed four bills before heading back home Friday. 

The first measure passed was Senate Bill 3 . The bill sponsored by Sen. John Schickel, R-Union, allows school district superintendents to hire principals. The hiring decision has previously been the responsibility of school-based decision-making (SBDM)  councils. The measure gives school superintendents the final decision over which principals are hired after consulting with the SBDM council. Schickel says no power of the council is removed with this measure.

"That superintendent who is hired by the school board who represents a community doesn't have the authority to hire the principal, that's a basic problem which senate bill 3 corrects," said Sen. Schickel.  "It gives the superintendent, who is hired by the school board, who is elected by the community the power to hire the principal in consulting with the council."

But--opponents of the bill are concerned it give superintendents too much power. 

"This is wrong, it's not an opportunity where we will make things better," said Sen. Alice Forgy Kerr, R-Lexington, "If you go back to the days of yore, anybody running for public office, 30 years ago, statewide, they went to the superintendents of that county because they know that one, most of the time gentleman, was where the power lay. It was with those superintendents and that does not need to be the case today Mr. President. This bill is very regressive."

SB 3 also changes the makeup the councils from a minimum of three teachers and two parents on the council to two parents and two teachers. 

It passed with a vote of 23-13.

Senate Bill 4 was up next. This measure sponsored by Senate Majority Floor Leader Damon Thayer, R-Georgetown, requires all candidates electronically file their campaign finance reports by 2020. 

Sen. Thayer says this is crucial for transparency in elections, as well as time to bring Kentucky up to date. 

"I think here we are 19 years into the 21st century, I think it's time we use the technology available to us to bring up to date our reporting mechanism so the public can see where candidates raise money and how they spend it," he said. 

Kentucky Registry of Finance is using money allocated in the 2018 session to update their antiquated system to allow for easier electronic filing for candidates. 

The bill passed 34-2. 

Next, another measure dealing with education. Senate Bill 8, sponsored by Sen. Stephen West, R-Paris, makes changes to the tribunal process. A teacher is able to use a tribunal process if he or she wants to appeal disciplinary action, such as termination, against them. The bill adds an attorney to the three person tribunal board. Sen. West says the changes allow for a better hearing for teachers. 

"This bill is all about adding due process and fundamental fairness to current tribunal periods," he said. "When a teacher is facing disciplinary action that may involve the termination of their professional teaching contract they deserve a professional hearing carried out in a way that provides complete due process. Once that process is complete they deserve a judgment delivered in a timely fashion without delay."

Opponents of this measure once again feared it would give too much power to the superintendents.

"The real danger today is that we are getting our system way out of balance, giving school superintendents too much power, and running the risk of falling off that top running ladder and going backwards in the public education system," said Sen. Reggie Thomas, D-Lexington. 

The bill passed 23-13. 

Finally, the first bill out of the newly formed Pro-Life Caucus passed Friday. Senate Bill 50, sponsored by Sen. Robby Mills, R-Hendersen, requires a report when certain medications that are commonly used for abortions are prescribed. 

"First, this adds specific language that includes the prescribing of certain drugs as an abortion that must be reported," said Sen. Mills. "The second thing it does, it instructs the vital statistics branch to produce an annual report on all the data collected. Currently, when an abortion takes place that grabs about 18 points of information. I think that every point of information is important and should be required to be produced in a report. Thirdly, it requires the report be easily found on the cabinet's website." 

Opponents say this measure is nothing more than an attempt to ban abortion in the Commonwealth. 

"Why do we want to place a stigma on these drugs?" asked Sen. Denise Harper Angel, D-Louisville. "This bill is nothing more than an attempt to overturn Roe v. Wade, which 72 percent of the population don't want to see."

The measure passed 30-6.

All bills move to the House for consideration.